SOUTHCO
THE SMART CHOICE: SELECTING HARDWARE TO EMBRACE THE SMART CITY MOVEMENT Our cities have always been places where new technologies are rapidly adopted and deployed to enable new modes of living, working and social interaction. The rise of advanced digital devices and communications tools, growth in electric vehicle (EV) use and ecommerce home delivery – all these factors are driving the creation of the “smart city.”
advanced physical security to protect this infrastructure is crucial.
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hese growing smart cities need engineered equipment and infrastructure to support the transformation. The arrival of advanced technologies like 5G and the exponential growth predicted for applications such as smart lighting, electric vehicle charging and city bike rental schemes is inviting industrial designers to consider a new mix of design challenges. As this new technology is deployed, there is a need for well-designed and secure enclosures to protect the equipment. These enclosures must be effectively and seamlessly integrated into existing urban environments, and they must be regularly accessed by both technical personnel and the general public. Access needs to be highly secure and well managed, yet at the same time easy to use and cleanly integrated into the built environment. There are a range of best practices that can be followed for adding engineered access hardware to smart city equipment and infrastructure, including the role that usability, security and longevity of this equipment plays in the design process.
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Selecting the right hardware can enhance this equipment, as well as the competitive value of enclosure technologies. 5G drives smart city growth One of the most significant smart city drivers is the rapid deployment of a 5G communications infrastructure. 5G provides data transfer rates many times faster than prior platforms, significant reduction of latency, high bandwidth and greater opportunities for connectivity and reliability. 5G cells are much smaller, with dimensions that make attaching them to walls and streetlamp poles – or even integrating them into the poles themselves – the most common method expected when positioning this equipment. There are even designs that will mount 5G network components on the underside of manhole covers. With the introduction of 5G, networking e q u i p m e nt a n d ot h e r va l u a b l e infrastructures are now located closer to the end user, so the need for
Nevertheless, industrial designers need to be equally aware of ways to incorporate access systems cleanly into enclosures so that they seamless merge into our built cityscapes, through the use of hidden hinges and elegantly designed latches that complement industrial design. Environmental hardening is also important; latches designed with compression can ensure that access panels are tightly sealed to protect against weather-related damage. Electronic access solutions (EAS) also provide enhanced physical security for 5G enclosures. An electronic access solution is composed of three primary components: an access control or input device, an electromechanical lock and a system for monitoring the status of the access point. EAS platforms offer security with a range of price points and design features. The most basic form is a simple RFID credential, used by many telecom service providers and contractors. The most secure access credential – which is gaining widespread use – supplies an electronic, time-based key via a mobile app on a technician’s smartphone. The
